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Control Quality

5 minutes 5 Questions

Control Quality is the process of monitoring and controlling project outputs, processes, and results to ensure that they meet specified quality standards. This involves identifying defects, non-conformances, and areas for improvement in project deliverables, processes, or outcomes. In this process, the project team uses various quality control tools and techniques, such as inspections, audits, reviews, and statistical analysis, to measure and analyze project performance data. Based on these assessments, corrective actions or preventive actions may be initiated to address quality issues and optimize project performance. Control Quality is an ongoing process that takes place throughout the entire project life cycle.

Guide to Control Quality: PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition

Control Quality is a critical process in the Project Quality Management knowledge area according to the PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition.

Why is Control Quality Important?
Control Quality is important because it helps to ensure that the project outputs and deliverables meet the required quality standards, and that they align with the needs and expectations of the project stakeholders. Without effective control quality processes, the risk of delivering poor quality outputs increases.

What is Control Quality?
Control Quality is the process of monitoring and recording the results of executing quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. It involves identifying causes of poor process or product quality and recommending and/or taking action to eliminate them.

How does Control Quality work?
Control Quality works by consistently monitoring and inspecting project deliverables to ensure that they meet the defined quality standards. It also involves tracking quality performance and analyzing quality data to identify trends and areas for improvement.

How to answer the Control Quality questions in the exam?
When answering Control Quality questions in the exam, you should be familiar with the key quality control tools and techniques mentioned in the PMBOK Guide such as Cause and Effect Diagrams, Control Charts, Flowcharts, Histograms, Pareto Charts, Scatter Diagrams etc. You should also understand the differences between Quality Assurance and Control Quality.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Control Quality
1. Understand the differences between Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Control Quality. Many exam questions often confuse these terms 2. Know the tools and techniques of Control Quality 3. Pay attention to questions that relate to Pareto Charts and Six Sigma as these are common in Control Quality 4. Practice situational questions that measure your ability to apply Control Quality concepts and tools in real-world scenarios.

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PMP - Quality Management Example Questions

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Question 1

During the Control Quality stage of your infrastructure project, the auditing team points out high potential risk factors which were not properly identified earlier. What is the best action to take?

Correct Answer: Accept the findings, re-assess the risk management plan and adjust it to properly accommodate those potential risks.

The best action to take is to accept the findings, re-assess the risk management plan and adjust it to properly accommodate those potential risks. The risk management plan should be a living document that is updated as new risks are identified throughout the project lifecycle. Ignoring the auditing team's findings or eliminating the risk factors without further analysis could lead to unmitigated risks that may negatively impact the project. Delegating the problem to the auditing team is not appropriate as they are not responsible for managing project risks. The project manager and team should take ownership of addressing the identified risks.

Question 2

During the control quality process, the project manager noticed that there are discrepancies between the deliverables and the quality standards specified in the project management plan. What is the best course of action in this situation?

Correct Answer: Review the quality control measurements and process to identify the root cause of the discrepancies.

The best course of action is to review the quality control measurements and process to identify the root cause of the discrepancies. This allows the project manager to pinpoint the specific issues causing the deliverables to deviate from the quality standards defined in the project management plan. Conducting random quality audits to confirm compliance investigating further is not an effective approach, as it does not address the underlying cause of the discrepancies. Escalating the discrepancies to senior management for resolution should only be done after a thorough investigation and if the project manager is unable to resolve the issue at their level. Implementing additional quality assurance procedures may help prevent future discrepancies, but it does not address the current issue at hand. The first step should be to identify the root cause of the problem before implementing preventive measures.

Question 3

During control quality, a team member informs you that they have been skip-level testing to save time. What should you do first?

Correct Answer: Evaluate the potential impact of skip-level testing.

During control quality, finding out about deviations like skip-level testing is very important. The first appropriate response should be to evaluate the potential impact of this activity. One should assess if this can lead to missed bugs or flawed product. Immediately halting the project or instructing the team member to start over might be premature without understanding the complete implications. It also wouldn't be right to just reward the team member for their initiative as it might be leading to poor quality outcome.

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